The Ivy Room (ballroom) within Merivales’ George Street development held a preview cocktail party recently.

Hosted by Future Directions, the member group for Sydney ’s most up and coming property professionals, Ivy; from Inception to Completion was one of the first events to be hosted in soon-to-open Ivy Room .

The “Bar Tsar” himself, Justin Hemmes made a special guest appearance giving an insight into his vision for Ivy and the challenges faced in getting this project off the ground.

Ivy, including The Ivy Room, is a daring project. One that took almost four years to gain approval and was almost derailed by police attempts to prevent the licensing needed for what is now the largest bar precinct in our city’s history.

The size and scope of this project, together with issues around licensing, late night transport and a fiercely competitive market, is daunting enough. Throw in retail and office tenants and a complex marketing campaign that appears to have rather successfully demonstrated how fine dining, live music, shopping and business can all live under one roof, and you have a Sydney landmark like no other.

ASE photographer Saffrine Nydegger was there to capture the atmosphere and described the experience:

Entering up a large staircase surrounded by beautiful clean cement walls we are greeted by two giant leather mahogany chairs. These oversized armchairs form the entrance into the ballroom. On arrival you are amazed by the indulgence of the extravagant fantasy world of grandeur. Cut out white chandeliers, the one giant zebra print that is the floor covering and the floor to ceiling white curtains that divide the ballroom. Along the bottom of the white curtain is a black and white cut-out story of a fantasy of King, Queens and Carnivals.

The room holds 700 people easily and the acoustics are muffled so a nice hum is achieved. The waiters were exceptional and the food was very moorish.